When I see all these major free agent contracts being signed for the incredible amounts that we hear, I can’t help but to think about the great center fielder Curt Flood.
In Flood, you’re talking about a man who was stuck in the old baseball system called the reserve clause. That meant that you were stuck with whatever team you initially signed with forever unless you were traded or released.
Flood like many players felt that this system was not fair. When he was traded from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Philadelphia Phillies he decided to challenge the system so he took the owners all the way to the Supreme Court.
He fought like a champion and even had Jackie Robinson appear in court to testify.
Unfortunately, he didn’t win however his strong fight helped the players get to the next level in knocking out the old system so that players could become free agents.
I always used to say that all free agents should have given Flood one percent of their salaries because it never would have happened without him.
Curt would go on to play a season for the Washington Senators then he quit baseball and moved to Spain and became an incredible artist.
In 1989 I was offered a job as the General Manager of the St. Lucie Legends of the Senior Professional Baseball League. It was a winter league for ex-Major Leaguers 35 and older who still wanted to play.
My team was filled with ex-Yankees like Fred Stanley and Bobby Bonds and Oscar Gamble and super stars like Vida Blue and Bill Madlock and my manager was the great Yankee third baseman Graig Nettles.
When I went to the first league meetings I was shocked to see that the commissioner was none other than Curt Flood.
The ownership groups were also very impressive. The biggest name was John Henry who from there would go on to purchase the Boston Red Sox. I must add that he was a very decent person.
After the initial meeting, he came over to me and said that if I needed any help with anything to let him know.
I was the only Team official of color and also the youngest so naturally I was somewhat intimidated. Curt noticed this right away and encouraged me to stay strong because some of the other team officials and owners would try to take advantage of me. Curt knew that I worked for George Steinbrenner and told me that I better come in there with some of that Steinbrenner venom. He said that in front of some of the owners and I could see John Henry laugh but say that Curt was right.
Curt was very sweet and incredibly intelligent. I learned a lot from him and appreciated how he looked out for me.
During one period of that season, I was afraid that I might not be able to make payroll. The money that my ownership group sent for that pay period was definitely short of what was due to the players. I told Curt my problem. He said that he had heard from Certain Yankees officials that I was very creative, didn’t be afraid to use that knowledge.
One day we got a call in the office from a guy saying he was Elvis Presley. My secretary said should I hang up on him? I told her to let me talk to him. The guy sounded like Elvis but admitted that he was an impersonator who worked at a club in Palm Beach.
I called Curt and told him that I had an idea. I said that I was going to let the local media know that a guy who said he was Elvis Presley wanted to show up at the ballpark before our Friday game and sing a couple of songs. Curt said this was a great idea however don’t let anyone know that he knew about it. I totally understood why he didn’t want people to know that he had any involvement in this. This was during the period when people were reporting major Elvis sightings so the press ran with it. The fact that Curt spiritually supported me was all I needed. We actually filled the park that night and I was able to meet payroll.
The Elvis impersonator drove in through centerfield, parked on the warning track and walked in sang a few songs said a few words got back in his car, and drove away, never to be seen again. The fans actually enjoyed the show and there were no complaints about whether Elvis was real or not. The Sporting News actually reported a great story of the event. You can actually look it up. I actually got a beautiful letter from Curt that still hangs in my house telling me how I was the only person in baseball who could get Elvis Presley to help me make payroll. It hangs next to a letter from Mr. Steinbrenner and Billy Martin.
Curt Flood was a friend and a person that I will never forget.
